Non-ionizing radiation | EPFL Graph Search

Non-ionizing (or non-ionising) radiation refers to any type of electromagnetic radiation that does not carry enough energy per quantum (photon energy) to ionize atoms or molecules—that is, to completely remove an electron from an atom or molecule. Instead of producing charged ions when passing through matter, non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation has sufficient energy only for excitation (the movement of an electron to a higher energy state). Non-ionizing radiation is not a significant health risk. In contrast, ionizing radiation has a higher frequency and shorter wavelength than non-ionizing radiation, and can be a serious health hazard: exposure to it can cause burns, radiation sickness, many kinds of cancer, and genetic damage. Using ionizing radiation requires elaborate radiological protection measures, which in general are not required with non-ionizing radiation. The region at which radiation is considered "ionizing" is not well defined, since different molecules and atoms io

Effect of intelligent antennas on radio system planning and on mitigation

Juliane Iten Chaves Simoes

Smart antennas have been recently applied to improve the capacity and the performance of second generation wireless mobile communication systems. In general, smart antennas reduce the effects of multipath fading and improve the signal-to-noise-plus-interference ratio (SNIR). Additional advantages such as channel capacity increase in urban areas, coverage extension in urban areas and spectrum efficiency in general can be obtained with the aid of smart antennas at the base station. Drawbacks are the cost, and both hardware and software complexity. Smart antennas promise a clear advantage in multi-service traffic scenario in comparison with non-adaptive antenna techniques. It is generally accepted that the adaptive antennas technique will be a key enable for the success of the European third generation mobile communication system known as Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). The first part of this thesis presents two types of smart antenna systems: switched beam antennas and adaptive arrays. It introduces statistical models for them and investigates the performance measures of cellular radio systems with and without smart antennas deployed at base stations. Employing Monte-Carlo methodology, a tool has been developed to analyze the interference between two different systems that share the same geographical area and have neighboring frequency channels. The statistical smart antennas model has been used to verify the mitigation of the interference compared with others antennas used at the base station. These simulations have been done for TDMA, FDMA and CDMA systems. Wireless communication operating at different frequencies on the non-ionizing radiation (NIR) region of the electromagnetic spectrum has greatly increased in the last few decades, with important benefits for the population. These include mobile communication, such as cellular telephone systems. However, the radiated electromagnetic field levels increased substantially in areas where people may stay during long periods each day. This may result in long-term exposure to the population. International guidelines and standards were developed aiming at protecting the population, and limiting the maximum radiation produced. The methods used by regulation authorities to evaluate the field levels at places of sensitive use yield very conservative results. They need thus to be refined prior to the introduction of adaptive antennas. In the second part of the thesis, a 3D ray tracing tool is developed to predict the propagation for real scenarios using UMTS systems. This tool takes into account 3D radiation diagrams and multipath propagation. It was used in real scenarios to compare the real field levels with the levels obtained by the approximate methods defined by the regulation standards. Finally, this tool was used to predict the field levels in a scenario containing smart antennas. Scenario not foreseen in the method described in the standards.

EPFL2008

Electron Emission Regimes of Planar Nano Vacuum Emitters

Alberto Nardi, Marco Turchetti, Yujia Yang

Recent advancements in nanofabrication have enabled the creation of vacuum electronic devices with nanoscale free-space gaps. These nanoelectronic devices promise the benefits of cold-field emission and transport through free space, such as high nonlinearity and relative insensitivity to temperature and ionizing radiation, all while drastically reducing the footprint, increasing the operating bandwidth, and reducing the power consumption of each device. Furthermore, planarized vacuum nanoelectronics could easily be integrated at scale similar to typical microscale and nanoscale semiconductor electronics. However, the interplay between different electron emission mechanisms from these devices is not well understood, and inconsistencies with pure Fowler-Nordheim (FN) emission have been noted by others. In this work, we systematically study the current-voltage characteristics of planar vacuum nanodevices having few-nanometer radii of curvature and free-space gaps between the emitter and the collector. By investigating the current-voltage characteristics of nearly identical devices fabricated from two different materials and under various environmental conditions, such as temperature and atmospheric pressure, we are able to clearly isolate three distinct emission regimes within a single device: Schottky, FN, and saturation. Our work will enable robust and accurate modeling of vacuum nanoelectronics, which will be critical for future applications requiring high-speed and low-power electronics capable of operation in extreme conditions.

IEEE-INST ELECTRICAL ELECTRONICS ENGINEERS INC2022

Low Doses of Ionizing Radiation Promote Tumor Growth and Metastasis by Enhancing Angiogenesis

Natsuko Imaizumi

Radiotherapy is a widely used treatment option in cancer. However, recent evidence suggests that doses of ionizing radiation (IR) delivered inside the tumor target volume, during fractionated radiotherapy, can promote tumor invasion and metastasis. Furthermore, the tissues that surround the tumor area are also exposed to low doses of IR that are lower than those delivered inside the tumor mass, because external radiotherapy is delivered to the tumor through multiple radiation beams, in order to prevent damage of organs at risk. The biological effects of these low doses of IR on the healthy tissue surrounding the tumor area, and in particular on the vasculature remain largely to be determined. We found that doses of IR lower or equal to 0.8 Gy enhance endothelial cell migration without impinging on cell proliferation or survival. Moreover, we show that low-dose IR induces a rapid phosphorylation of several endothelial cell proteins, including the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) Receptor-2 and induces VEGF production in hypoxia mimicking conditions. By activating the VEGF Receptor-2, low-dose IR enhances endothelial cell migration and prevents endothelial cell death promoted by an anti-angiogenic drug, bevacizumab. In addition, we observed that low-dose IR accelerates embryonic angiogenic sprouting during zebrafish development and promotes adult angiogenesis during zebrafish fin regeneration and in the murine Matrigel assay. Using murine experimental models of leukemia and orthotopic breast cancer, we show that low-dose IR promotes tumor growth and metastasis and that these effects were prevented by the administration of a VEGF receptor-tyrosine kinase inhibitor immediately before IR exposure. These findings demonstrate a new mechanism to the understanding of the potential pro-metastatic effect of IR and may provide a new rationale basis to the improvement of current radiotherapy protocols.